Three years ago, in May 2022, we learned we were officially coming to the end of an era: EA’s annual football games would no longer be titled ‘FIFA’ followed by the corresponding year. After the FIFA organization reportedly requested a $1 billion licensing fee from EA, the long-held partnership ended, with EA moving on to call its annualized football series ‘EA Sports FC,’ creating new licensing deals with the professional football teams and leagues featured in the game. FIFA, for its part, declared it would develop its own football game, and we’ve just seen what that looks like. A mascot-forward mobile and console game called FIFA Heroes.
‘Mascot-forward’ means that instead of the game featuring professional footballers, it features the mascots for international teams, including Maple the Moose for Canada, Zayu the Jaguar for Mexico, and Clutch the Eagle for the United States of America. It’s a five-a-side game that doesn’t seem to take the same simulation-forward approach as EA Sports FC, but instead is depicted as something closer to Sloclap’s Rematch or other arcade-focused football games.
A press release for FIFA Heroes describes players being able to build their “dream squad with beloved football personalities, recognizable fictional characters and FIFA’s official mascots through the years.” It’ll feature both PvE and PvP matches, and is coming to PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and mobile, sometime in 2026.
“At FIFA, uniting people through the love of football has always been our priority,” said Christian Volk, director of gaming and esports at FIFA. “With FIFA Heroes, fans can create a multiverse team: mixing their treasured fictional heroes, favourite players, and our own mascots. We’re offering the love of football to a new generation, while rekindling the nostalgia and fun for families and older players who’ve grown up with FIFA. FIFA Heroes fits seamlessly into our digital football portfolio under the FIFAe umbrella, adding another strong pillar to our fast-growing gaming ecosystem.”
The game is being developed in a partnership between FIFA, Solace, and Enver Studios, with Solace’s director, Kyle Joyce, adding, “From day one, Solace has worked closely with ENVER, the development studio, to create pioneering game development experiences that bring players together. With FIFA Heroes, we set out to capture what actually makes football so compelling: speed, drama, and rivalry. Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and this game is our way of putting that love of the sport into play.”
With the FIFA World Cup returning in 2026, it’s possible that FIFA Heroes could lean on the tournament to create a solid level of popularity. Though any hype or popularity gained will only be maintained if the game is actually good and fun to play. We’ll see how FIFA’s first major game release separate from EA goes when it arrives sometime next year.